Bulletin board



2, 1940. Q E, FOX 2,195,985

BULLETI BOARD Filed arch 13, 1939 Patented Apr. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT i BULLETIN EGARD George E. Fox, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 13,

3 Claims.

?- board of this type to employ a panel' of cork for receiving the points of the thumb tacks. Such a panel although it has 'manifest advantages over a panel of felt or soft Wood or a combination of panels of Isuch materials, is subject to the objection that repeated'penetration or lodgment of the points of the thumbv tacks in it cause holes which in addition =to being unsightly make `it diicult or yimpossible to place the thumb tacks in the same place and hence materially restrict the life of the board as va whole.

One object of the invention is to provide a bulletin vboard Which is an improvement upon and has greater durability than previouslydesigned boards with cork front panels-by reason of the factv that its front panel, that is, the panel for receiving the points ofthe thumb. tacks,y is formed of' a comparatively soft spongy material such as sponge rubber which, in addition to. permitting the points of the tacks to bereadily'erm. bedded or lodged in it, grips'the points securely and permits them tobe removed Without leaving holes in the front panel. Another object of the invention isto provide a bulletin board of the last mentioned character in which the front panel of sponge rubber isiless in thickness than the length of the* points of thumb tacks of-'standard size and is backed and supported against buckling by a cardboard back panel Whichvis adapted to receive and grip frictionally and securely the sharp needle like extremities-fof the thumb tack points and thus coacts with the sponge rubber front panel to hold the thumb tacks iny place without likelihood of accidental displacement.

AA further objectv of theinvention is to provide a bulletin board which is generally of new and improved design and in addition to having a pleasing appearance may be manufactured at an extremely low cost.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present bulletin board will be apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which' areheremafter set' forthfan'dare more particularly 'defined byV claims" at the-ccnl clusion hereof. Y

'In the drawing Wliiclflaccompanies andiirms a partvv of this specification l or l disclosure C andi-in! which like numerals of reference' den'c'ite':corre-l sponding parts' throughout-L1 the: several viewsz':

VFigure 1 is a perspectivelview -shoiwingi a bulle# tin board embodying ther invention in Vits operative position and with bulletinsA a'ilixed thereto by Way ofthumb tackls@of:conventionallor-standard size; l

Figure 2 is a-'horizontallsection Figure 3 is an` enlarged.fragmentary` section taken'I on the line 3"-vf-3 o'ffFigurerl. andi illustrat-f ing in detail thedesignandl'arranigementl ofione of the eyelets'which'V constitute the meanswhereby the board may be supported against .a lwall; and

Figure iis line 4`4'^of Figure lan'd showingf'the manner in Which the' vfront parielof'sponge. rubber 'and the rear panel of cardboardc'oact tofh'oldlin `place` a bulletinl'supp'orting thumb'tack. l

The bulletin'board'.whicl'i is shown:Y in thefdraw-v ing consttutesthe' preferred embodiment` of 'the'. invention. It is adapteditofb'ehung orsupported against a Wall an :l*t'o`havey bulletins or notices` securedxto' it by wayY of 'thumb tacks T of: stand ard size and-comprises al front panelr, :aback panelG, -a frame -1=; an'diapairI'Ot eyeletsd.v The? tacks consist of enlarged headsfttand pointsfft'f, asshown in Figure 4, and: are; adapted 'when used to attach'thelbulletins' to 1 the-board tobe forced inwardsbyftllethumb infsuch manner as to: bring the pointsvthereof'. inter embedded rela@ tion with the* frontand rear xpanels'.- The'tips orV outer extremities ofuthel points ofy the-tacks' are sharply pointed. orrlneedleelikeV so that ythe points are capa-bleef. being "iorc'ed-.readilyfinto the panels.

The iront panel. 5'Vv is'. rectangulary andV against the back/panellf: Itsisformedfotsponge rubberq` and preferablyfhasl none'p'orous@ outer-sand inner/-'faces` The 1 thiclnessffof ithef-ffront panel' isf less thanithe-length \oilthefpoirits'ty "of the 'tacks'.-r In practice it has been found that effective anchoring of the points of the tacks is obtained When the thickness of the front panel is slightly greater than half of the length of the tack. points.

is y

an enlarged section taken-N on the? 27B The back panel 6 is the same in shape and size as the front panel 5. It is formed of cardboard and is secured to the front panel by Way of a layer 9 of any suitable adhesive material. As

shown in Figure 2, the adhesive is coextensive with the adjoining inner faces of the two panels. The back panel is the same in thickness as the front panel and serves to stiften, and thus prevent sagging of, the front panel 5. In addition, it is adapted to receive the needle-like tips or outer extremities of the points t' of the tacks T and coacts with the sponge rubber panel to hold the tacks securely in place. Because of the substantial permanent elasticity of sponge rubber the points of the tacks when withdrawn from the board leave in the front panel no holes which are unsightly and would tend to limit or restrict the durability of the board as a Whole. By reason of the fact that the front panel is less in thickne than the points of the tacks are long and is acked by the cardboard back panel 6 the points of the tacks when inserted into the board pass readily through the front panel and into the back panel. When the thumb tacks T are in place in the board the front panel because of its elastic nature grips frictionally and securely the inner portions of the points of the tack and the back panel B grips and forms a i'lrm anchorage for the needle-like tips or outer extremities of the points. As shown in Figure 4, the combined thickness of the front and back panels is greater than the length of the points of the tacks with the result that when the tacks are in place the needle-like tips do not project beyond the rear face of the back panel.

The frame 'l is of the channel variety and extends around the top, side and bottom portions of the two panels 5 and 6, as shown in Figure l. It is preferably formed of metal and embodies inturned laterally spaced side iianges I ll which fit against and secure in abutting relation the marginal portions of the front and back panels 5 and 6.

The eyelets 8 are located at and extend through -the upper corners of the board. They extend through aligned holes in the front and back panels 5 and 6 and are adapted in connection with hooks or other attaching devices to hold the board in place. The ends of the eyelets have outwardly extending flanges Il which lap the outer faces of the front and back panels and serve to hold the eyelets against axial displacement with respect to the panels.

When the board is in its operative position and it is desired to post bulletins on the board, it is only necessary to place the bulletins against the front face of the front panel 5 of sponge rubber and then force the points of the thumb tacks through the two panels, as hereinbefore described. When the thumb tacks are in place the heads t prevent dislodgment of the bulletins from the points of the tacks and the points are gripped and held not only by the sponge rubber front panel but also by the cardboard back panel 6. When the thumb tacks T are withdrawn from the board in connection with removal of the bulletins no unsightly holes are left in the front panel 5, as heretofore pointed out.

Theiherein described bulletin board possesses extremely long life and effectively and eilciently fuliills its intended purpose. By reason of the fact that the sponge rubber front panel is less in thickness than the pins of the tacks are long but a small amount of sponge rubber is needed in connection with fabrication of the board and the board as a whole may thus be produced at a low and reasonable cost.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a board adapted to have bulletins posted thereagainst by way of thumb tacks of predetermined or standard size and comprising a bulletin receiving front panel adapted to receive and have embedded therein the head adjoining portions of the tack points and formed of a sheet of sponge rubber with substantially nonporous front and back faces, in order that said portions of the tack points are gripped frictionally and elastically when embedded therein and the points leave no holes when withdrawn therefrom, and a comparatively stii coextensive back panel tting against, and having the entire front face thereof adhesively secured to, the back face of the front panel and adapted to receive and grip frctionally but releasably the tips of the tack points.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a board adapted to have bulletins posted thereagainst by Way of thumb tacks of predetermined or standard length and comprising a bulletin receiving front panel adapted to receive and have embedded therein the head adjoining portions of the tack points and formed of a sheet of sponge rubber' with substantially nonporous front and back faces in order that the tack points are gripped frictionally and elastically when embedded therein and the points leave no holes when withdrawn therefrom, and a coextensive cardboard back panel tting against, and adhesively secured throughout the entire area of the front face thereof to, the back face of the front panel and adapted to receive and grip frictionally but releasably the tips of said tack points.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a board adapted to have bulletins posted thereagainst by Way of thumb tacks of predetermined or standard size and comprising a bulletin receiving front panel adapted to receive and have embedded therein the head adjoining or inner portions of the tack points and formed of a sheet of sponge rubber with a substantially nonporous front face, in order that such portions of the tacks are gripped frictionally and elastically when embedded therein and the points leave no holes when withdrawn therefrom, and a coextensive comparatively stii cardboard back panel of substantially the same thickness as the front panel fitting against and secured to the back face of the front panel and adapted to receive and grip frictionally but releasably the tips of the tack points.

GEORGE E. FOX. 

